Chennai-based Sankari Sudhar’s startup ‘Overqualified Housewives’ has assisted over 600 Indian ladies in rejoining the workforce, offering job alternatives and upskilling packages for these in search of flexibility after profession breaks attributable to marriage, childcare, or every other cause.
In a current landmark ruling, the Supreme Courtroom declared that two-year childcare depart — other than maternity depart of 180 days — is a constitutional mandate for ladies staff.
The bench — led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud — emphasised that denying such depart forces ladies to resign. “Participation of ladies within the workforce isn’t a privilege however a constitutional mandate. Little one care depart subserves an necessary constitutional goal to make ladies be a part of the workforce. In any other case, moms shall be left with no choice however to stop their jobs to take care of their youngsters in vital phases of their lives,” the bench famous.
Nonetheless, it’s not hid that Indian ladies have lengthy been burdened with the ‘motherhood penalty’.
Statistically talking, 73 % of Indian ladies depart their jobs after giving beginning; 50 % depart their jobs to deal with their youngsters; and even amongst those that handle to return, 48 % drop out inside 4 months of rejoining the workforce. One other survey reveals that 30 % of ladies report getting wage cuts after maternity breaks.
Chennai’s Sankari Sudhar went by means of the identical agony after turning into a mom. After dealing with a number of rejections, she went on to begin ‘Overqualified Housewives’ to get ladies like her again into the workforce.
To this point, greater than 600 Indian ladies have gotten job alternatives by means of her platform.
India: Dwelling to highest overqualified housewives
A graduate of pc science engineering from Madras College of Know-how, Chennai, Sankari labored for eight years earlier than she stop her job in 2020 — after her maternity depart. “It was extraordinarily tough to handle my private {and professional} life concurrently. I turned a homemaker assuming it will give me the required house to deal with my household and be comfortable. However that was not the case,” she says.
“I noticed my friends getting promoted, touchdown higher jobs, or shifting overseas for larger research. Whereas your entire world appeared to be shifting forward, all of the sudden I felt caught within the 4 partitions of my house. I puzzled why I studied effectively and why I used to be not able to work. These questions saved haunting me. I by no means anticipated that motherhood might carry that type of block street for me,” she recollects.
After a profession break of a yr and a half, Sankari began on the lookout for versatile work alternatives from house. “I used to be not able to work full-time for 9 hours straight. I used to be on the lookout for jobs that supplied versatile working hours the place I might work when my child was sleeping. Sadly, I couldn’t discover distant choices for my skillset. I began upskilling myself however I used to be getting simple information entry type of jobs that didn’t match my ability set and weren’t dependable,” she says.
Whereas Sankari was on her job hunt, she got here throughout comparable tales of her pals. “Certainly one of my pals who was exceptionally sensible instructed me how her life turned the wrong way up after childbirth. I understood I used to be not alone. There have been numerous ladies who had been unable to pursue their careers due to the dearth of flexibility within the workforce for moms,” she provides.
Quoting an article she learn in a newspaper, Sankari factors out that India is supposedly house to the best variety of over-educated and overqualified housewives on the planet. This context is what gave beginning to her startup ‘Overqualified Housewives’ — which goals to supply work flexibility and accountability to housewives trying to proceed their careers, which Sankari as soon as sought.
Helped 600 ladies rejoin the workforce
At Overqualified Housewives, Sankari connects moms with firms based mostly on their ability units throughout numerous fields — together with admin, operations, content material writing, graphic designing, digital advertising and marketing, social media administration, video enhancing, creating, testing, and challenge administration.
To this point, they’ve onboarded a minimum of 700 Indian firms — together with PickMyAd, Nowwin Applied sciences, Amenstra Consulting, The Social Firm, and DigiNadu — on their platform.
“Girls can register themselves on our platform. They’ll examine the job alternatives we recurrently put up and apply for the job. We shortlist the profiles and provides the database to the purchasers for interviews,” she says.
The platform additionally focuses on upskilling these moms aiming to rejoin the workforce after lengthy profession breaks. It affords a weekly fundamental upskilling programme from a subject professional from numerous fields. The startup doesn’t cost a penny from these moms besides Rs 199 for an hour-and-a-half upskilling session, which isn’t necessary to attend.
Highlighting the challenges in operating such a platform, Sankari says, “As a women-led start-up, companies intend to take us as a right. They may quote extraordinarily low wages assuming ladies will settle in for low-wage jobs. We make it possible for they’re paid for the extent of labor which they’re committing,” she says.
“Additionally, firms imagine that we might not have good professionals or dedicated folks. We need to break that stereotype. Girls are very accountable. In the event that they take up some work, they do it with full dedication,” she provides.
Since its launch in 2022, the startup has upskilled greater than 3,500 Indian ladies and helped over 600 of them rejoin the workforce.
Certainly one of their ‘overqualified housewives’, Meenakshi Priyadarshini tells The Higher India, “After my profession break of three years, once I began making use of for jobs, I didn’t really feel assured. I used to be not up to date on the present expertise. Final yr, I got here throughout this startup and registered myself. With their webinars, I began upskilling myself to the current expertise, and after six months, I landed a job that gives me with work flexibility and respectable pay for my designation.”
Personally, this journey has been rewarding for Sankari, who not solely discovered a purpose-driven profession for herself but additionally helped ladies grow to be financially impartial and get again into the workforce.
“When they’re welcomed right into a job after profession breaks, I see a complete new degree of confidence amongst these ladies. It provides me a whole lot of peace and contentment, which is past the cash I might make in any job or my very own firm,” she shares.
If you happen to discovered our tales insightful, informative, and even simply pleasant, we invite you to think about making a voluntary fee to assist the work we do at The Higher India. Your contribution helps us proceed producing high quality content material that educates, conjures up, and drives optimistic change.
Select one of many fee choices beneath to your contribution-
By paying for the tales you worth, you immediately contribute to sustaining our efforts centered on making a distinction on the planet. Collectively, let’s make sure that impactful tales proceed to be instructed and shared, enriching lives and communities alike.
Thanks to your assist. Listed below are some ceaselessly requested questions you may discover useful to know why you might be contributing?
Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures: Sankari Sudhar
Sources
50% of New Moms Go away Their Jobs, and Solely 27% Return: Report: By The Quint, Revealed on 28 April 2018
Maternity Advantages (Modification) Act 2017: 3 years later, end result removed from passable: By Sonal Khetarpal for Enterprise At this time, Revealed on 3 November 2020
A platform for ladies to relaunch their careers: By BLOnCampus, Revealed on 1 August 2017
